


Sink or Fall

by Forever_Sweet



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: M/M, This is more subtle beginning of crush fic.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-10 06:40:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5574916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forever_Sweet/pseuds/Forever_Sweet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dipper can't swim and no one wants to/can teach him. Mabel, however, has a new friend that may be able to help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sink or Fall

**Author's Note:**

> dip how to Anonymous Said: Dipmando if you don't mind. How about Dipper, maebl, cnady, wendy, soos, stan, and grenda can't swim because they never learnt. And mermando sees this and teaches swim.

“Mabel, the best thing that could have ever happened to me, just happened!” Dipper found his sister soon after he finished talking with Poolcheck. 

“A unicorn just barfed all over you and declared you the most fair of them all?” Mabel bounced excitedly and punched her brother in the arm after a few seconds.

“Naw! I’m only kidding! Bro-bro, I have found the most gorgeous boy in all of the realm!” Dipper wasn’t exactly surprised that Mabel’s news was her newest boy crush, but he reminded himself to be happy for her anyway.

“So, what happened with you, Brotato?” 

“I got a job working her with Wendy, as assistant lifeguard!”

“Uh, Dipper… I thought lifeguards were supposed to know how to swim? Unless you really are just supposed to throw those red noodle thingies at people and hope for the best…?” Dipper rolled his eyes and recovered some of his pep.  
  
“That’s why you’re going to teach me, oh sister who is so dear to me.” All of the color drained from Mabel’s face and she started looking for anyway to escape the current situation.

“I THINK I HEAR MY OVEN BURNING, SEE YOU LATER DIP!” Mabel rushed out, but didn’t get far before Dipper’s hand on her arm stopped her.

“Mabel!”

“Dipdot, I love you to glittery pieces, but I already tried to show you how to swim! Remember? You almost drowned ME!” Dipper pulled his hand away offended and crossed his arms over his chest defensively. 

“That was when we were kids!”

“We are still kids!”

“It was still several years ago!”

“I HAVE NIGHTMARES OF POOL NOODLES, DIPPER!” 

“MABEL, COME ON! I CAN’T DO THE JOB IF POOLCHECK KNOWS I CAN’T SWIM!”

“Dipper! This is way even beyond my capability! Can’t you just find a different way to bond with Wendy?” Dipper’s shoulders slumped and Mabel knew she had made a bad call.

“I’m sorry, Dipper, but…” The Mabel got the best idea ever.

“DIPPER! DIPPER! DIPPER!” Dipper was confused as to why Mabel started bouncing in front of him and looked suddenly excited.

“I know the best teacher ever! I am for sure that he can help you swim!” Dipper didn’t like where this was going.

“Is this the same guy you were excited about earlier?”

“Of course! He can help you learn to swim and in return for hooking you two up, you can be my wingman! Tell him how great I am and such!” Mabel had that excited look in eye that she sometimes got when a bad idea was brewing. 

However, it wasn’t like Dipper had a lot of choices. 

Before going over to Mabel he had asked Stan, but his grunkle had just shooed him off with, “I’m busy kid.” Soos had been no help since he also apparently didn’t know how to swim and that was what floaties were for. There was no way that he was going to ask either of Mabel’s friends either, since they were kind of…yeah.

“What do you say, Dippingsauce?” Mabel still vibrated excitedly in front of him and Dipper figured that he didn’t really have a lot to lose.

“Sure, but you can’t tell Wendy anymore embarrassing stories about me!”

“My lips are sealed! Come on, he’s over near the deep end!” Mabel grabbed his wrist and insistently pulled him towards the deeper end of the pool. Which was right about when that dreadful feeling in his gut made a reappearance. 

~OwO~

Introductions had been awkward to say the least. Apparently not only was Mermando the new crush’s name, but he was also a merman. Which normally Dipper would have been excited about since it would prove a chance to ask a bunch of questions. However, Mabel had made him promise not to say anything too “nerdy” in front of Mermando.

Which was how the two were left awkwardly to their own devices in the middle of the night. Mabel had winked and told them that she had some crafting to do and that it would be a great teaching opportunity. 

Except that they weren’t really doing anything. Mermando floated in silence and Dipper sat on the edge of the pool with his toes just barely in the water.

“So…a merman. What’s that like?”

“It is normal, I suppose?” 

“Okay, cool…” Dipper kind of wanted to leave since this obviously wasn’t going anywhere.

“I’m sorry about my sister. She can be really enthusiastic when she wants to be.”

“No, no it is alright. It is just perplexing on how I am to teach you to swim when it comes natural to me.” 

Dipper wanted to smack himself in the face because of course Mermando wouldn’t be a lot of help. This really was all a waste of time and Mabel’s way of getting in good with her latest crush.

“I’ll just go, since…” Dipper shrugged and was about to pull his feet out of the water when Mermando grabbed one of his ankles. Dipper’s first instinct was to kick out, but he held it in as Mermando loosened his hold.

“I can’t teach you anything if you won’t enter the water.” Dipper looked down at the dark watery abyss and very much regretted ever asking for help. Still, he was going this all for Wendy.

“If you are nervous I can hold onto you?” 

“Uh, sure.” It was now or never and Mermando let go of his ankle completely. Holding his breath and clutched tightly to the side of the pool as water rose above his naval. 

“This isn’t so bad actually?” Dipper nervously laughed and looked over his shoulder at Mermando. Except the merman wasn’t there and Dipper whipped his head around, but couldn’t find him anywhere.

That was when every story he had ever read about sirens tricking people into the water and then drowning them came back. He scrambled to get himself back up onto dry land, but his feet slipped on the side. Dipper lost his grip on the side of the pull and only got in one panicked breath before he plunged into the water fully. 

Water flooded his mouth and nose instantly. The sudden lack of air had him clawing at the water and made water flow into his lungs faster as he gasped and struggled. The water closed in fast and Dipper’s head became fuzzy as everything filled up with water. In a strange way he thought maybe he had even become water.

~OwO~

Dipper’s head was pounding and the pain swallowed him up briefly. Then there was something warm against his lips and air was pushed through his body. Finally he choked and tipped to the side to spit up the water that made him sputter and gag.

“Are you alright? I went under to give you privacy, and then you went under as well.” Mermando’s concerned face was right above Dipper’s, but he was having trouble focusing on it. Finally the shock of almost dying wore off and he tried to sit up.

That was when he realized he was still in the water. It got even worse though when he looked around and found himself in the middle of the pool. The only thing that was keeping him above the surface was Mermando.

“Do not panic. You panic and I might drop you. That would be very bad, amigo.” Dipper was trying to keep his cool, but it was hard after almost drowning and waking up to find himself still in the water.

“Land…oh this was a bad idea…” Dipper remained frozen though and they both floated lazily in the water. Occasionally there would be a wave created by Mermando’s tail that would rock them slightly, but other than that they were pretty stationary.

“Of course, but I will not be able to swim you back normally. You will have to submerge your head.” The thought of doing back under the water was more terrifying than staying in the water period.

“Nevermind. This is fine for now…” Just in case Mermando changed his mind, Dipper dug his bitten down nails in the merman’s skin. 

“If you are sure?”

“Sure, sure… Just don’t put me back under.”

“If you could float on your back it would not be necessary. Then I could simply push you forward until you reached the edge.” It didn’t sound like a plan that could get him killed, but Dipper wasn’t going to hold his breath. 

“How do you float?”

“You need to relax and let go of me.” Relaxing wasn’t exactly an easy feat for Dipper, but anything to get him out of the water faster. He just wanted to go home, dry off, and lay in bed until he didn’t feel so cold anymore.

“There. Now I am going to shift you onto your back. Please do not flail and panic.” Dipper’s cheeks turned red and he kept his mouth shut. 

He didn’t panic when Mermando held onto him and shifted him onto his back, but he did flex his fingers a few times. He did almost go under though when Mermando’s hands briefly moved away. When he started to sink they were back and Dipper was breathing hard through his nose.

“Relax, take deep breathes and stare up at the sky. Count the stars or think of something nice?” Dipper wanted to tell Mermando that, that was easy for him to say, but wisely didn’t say anything. He didn’t want the guy to drop him and leave him to drown afterall.

This time when Mermando’s hands left Dipper was prepared and he focused on keeping his breathing steady. The hands were back not even a few seconds later and this time they used Dipper’s shoulders to push him forward gently.

For the first couple of inches the experience was terrifying and Dipper almost sunk. Then it got easier and he found his mind wandering off from focusing on his breathing. For someone who spent all their time in the water Mermando’s hands were surprisingly warm. It made Dipper question how he managed to put off body heat if he had a body type similar to most fish. Or was he really just a mammal that swam? Like a platypus, but Dipper wasn’t really sure and he didn’t want to mess up the calm with his questions.

If he listened close enough he could hear the waves lapping over his body as he slowly drifted towards the wall. Some part of him even thought it could hear Mermando breathing in and out under the water. 

Then the calm was shattered and he could feel his toes brush up against the concrete of the side of the pool. He almost submerged himself again with surprise and it took all his concentration not to sink. 

Mermando’s hands disappeared from his shoulders again and the head of the merman surfaced. Dipper watched him in the way a dreamer would watch something of their own creation. He decided that floating wasn’t too bad afterall.

It was soon over with and Mermando made sure to have a good grip on him. Then the two of them heaved Dipper back up onto dry land. Which was a bigger shock than Dipper thought it would be. The air bit at his skin and he felt significantly heavier than he had floating on top of the water.

“I apologize for my mistake, and I hope you are not hurt?” Mermando had himself half out of the pool by his arms as he stared at Dipper with concern. 

Mermando’s hair seemed like it had stars in it, and if Dipper reached forward he may be able to touch the night sky. He banished those hazy thoughts after thinking them and dismissed them as an effect of the calm from floating.

“I’m okay. Just a little shaken up. I need to go home and make sure Mabel doesn’t think I’m dead.” It took a while for Dipper to get back to his feet, and when he did he found that Mermando was still staring at him. 

“Uh…thanks for trying though?” Mermando nodded and finally sunk back into the pool, his head and the tops of his shoulders the only thing peaking out from the dark water. 

“Of course. If you are not too angry with me, we can try again?”

“Sure.” Mermando nodded again and then he was gone completely below the surface. Dipper thought that was his cue to leave so he wasted no time in getting up over the fence. 

~OwO~

“Sooooo~? What did he say?”

“What did who say?” Dipper dried his hair off with a towel as Mabel hovered over his shoulder and watched him intently.

“Mermando, you silly goose!” 

“Oh. Uh, not really much?”

“Not even about me?” 

“We didn’t get to talk much between me almost drowning and him saving me.”

“Aw, shucks.”

“Maybe next time though.”

“Wait, you’re going back?” Mabel’s spirit bounced back quickly and she grinned at Dipper in a way that wouldn’t have let him say no even if he had been planning on it.

“Sure. The floating was pretty nice and I still need to be able to swim to do my job with Wendy,” but also Dipper couldn’t get the image of Mermando’s star filled hair out of his head. There was no way he would ever tell Mabel something like that. 

“Woot! Dipper this is so exciting!” Mabel squealed loudly, and was soon shushed by the sound of a broom beating on their floor.

“KIDS! YOU TWO SHOULD BE ASLEEP! OR AT LEAST QUIET BECAUSE I’M AN OLD MAN AND I NEED TO PLOT!” They both immediately fell silent, and Mabel pouted at the floor. Still she stayed quiet as she snuck back over to her bed and made herself comfortable between her sheets. Before she rolled over she gave Dipper one last thumbs up and then cuddled her stuffed animals.

Dipper took a little more time getting back to bed and as he stared up at the ceiling. He dreaded the knowledge that a new crush may be wiggling its way into his brain.


End file.
